Global Youth Data Challenge for Safer Cities

UN Women states that 1 in 3 women suffer from sexual harassment at least once in their lifetime. However, due to victim blaming, and patriarchal power dynamics, most racial, sexual, and gender-based violence incidents are rarely reported to the police, which creates a data gap that leads to poor decision making, resource allocation, and policy development and implementation. Besides, this data gap creates a culture of silence in communities, leading to a lack of confidence to share their lived experiences and to occupy public spaces. This cycle of silence and violence has been perpetrated for several decades, and young generations feel overwhelmed to tackle this issue. As there is too much to be done, and even though they are engaged in activism, there is little tangible change being accomplished. Studies conducted in the U.S show that 60% of students felt that activism took a toll on their mental health, and part of it is the lack of tangible progress being done in the issues they are passionate about (Conner, 2021; 2023).  Moreover, decades of a culture of silence portraying gender- based violence has created a barrier for young activists to be engaged in tangible solutions, and without addressing these underlying issues, there's a risk of a perpetuating cycle of violence and silence that will continue to hinder progress in gender equality.

The Global Data Challenge consists of a four module program that support youth activists to understand the issue of gender based violence from a more analytical perspective; and help them structure solutions and recommendations that are tangible, creative, innovative and that can be applicable in both a local and global contexts. Through the four modules, participants will undertake learnings about data collection, data analysis, solution brainstorming and design, and finally presentation design and pitching. Each module is divided into one masterclass with field experts and one hands-on practice, which helps participants develop their skills both theoretically and practically. In the data collection and analysis segments, participants use the Safecity app, a crowdmap developed by Red Dot Foundation which stack collects and analyses crowdsourced, anonymous reports of sexual violence. Through it, participants are be able to identify patterns and key insights that are then used to develop their solutions and recommendations. The Global Data Challenge culminates in a series of presentations to a jury of selected experts, who choose the best and more tangible/practical ideas to be taken forward. Winning solutions are invited to take part in the Youth League For Safer Cities Fellowship, where these solutions are further developed and implemented with mentorship. 

The Global Data Challenge impacts directly the lives of the youth activists, who previously felt overwhelmed by activism, and due to access to masterclasses and hands-on activities on data gathering, analysis and solution design are now equipped to be change agents in their communities. These youth activists are 18-35 years old from communities where gender based violence is present in its many forms. Indirectly, the challenge impacts the lives of thousands of victims across the world, as the main purpose of the challenge is to find innovative solutions that are applicable to both a local and global context. 

The Red Dot Foundation team has conducted several programs with similar curricula, such as the Youth Innovation Challenge and Urban Thinkers Campus in India, as well as the Data Intervention Challenge and a pilot version of Global Data Challenge conducted in the U.S and globally. The Global Data Challenge was conducted with over 200 participants from 30 different countries, and as an outcome, a curriculum for middle and high school teachers on Online Harassment and Cyberbullying was developed and implemented in 5 countries with over 40 schools. Furthermore, through the Global Data Challenge, Red Dot Foundation was able to create a virtual global community that came together to overcome cultural barriers and focus on a specific global issue, which is Sexual and Gender Based Violence. Our team facilitated these sessions and led discussions with participants, while making sure that each participant had the chance to speak up about the matter and give their local inputs on the issues, which allowed for the solutions created to be easily replicated in several countries, and reach thousands of people. Moreover, Red Dot Foundation has as one of its core values to support and uplift voices of the local communities, and through our methodology of engagement during the Global Data Challenge, we were able to nurture a space of exchange, networking and collaboration, which is crucial for the development of the Global Data Challenge 

We believe that through connections and mentorship from Solve, the Global Data Challenge will be able to be further developed, strengthened and potentially reach more people both in the United States and abroad. Additionally, through monetary support, we will be able to further develop the program to include benefits to the participants and mentors. Furthermore, through Solve we expect to learn more about other models and approaches to youth engagement, as well as learn different ways we can measure and evaluate the impact of the program, with the intention to reach more young activists globally.  

The Global Data Challenge can be considered an innovative solution because it connects people from different backgrounds, cultures and stories into one space to discuss and come up with solutions for one global problem. Furthermore, it also creates opportunities for young people to feel empowered to take on further activism, and connects them with innovators and experts in the field. Besides capacity building, the Global Data Challenge also brings modules that extend knowledge from theory to practice, and each session is filled with reflections on personal experiences, which allows the cohort to understand different cultural backgrounds and explore solutions that are easily replicable in many different settings. 

For the year of 2023, we expect to reach 300 participants on the Global Data Challenge, and reach 1000 people reached by their solutions,  and for the next five years, we hope to run the challenge every four months, which allows us to generate at least 15 tangible and applicable solutions per year, which can impact over 15000 people. 

Impact is measured by the number of reports collected in the first module, number of final solutions being delivered, and number of people impacted by the final solution. 

We also measure the increase in knowledge by participants on the topic, the increased confidence to take action and the increased willingness to participate in solving the issue.

Our theory of change is based on the ecological model of violence prevention, which focuses on community factors rather than focusing on individual prevention.  We believe that by encouraging self-reports of unreported sexual assaults, communities can document and understand the accurate level and nature of local sexual assaults and that this data can be used by communities for prevention. The detail that these reports provide tells more than location/time/date but provides a picture into the lived reality of victims. These reports also uncover spaces that provide “cover” for incidents to occur, and reveal norms of sexually violent behavior in these spaces, that are reinforced when nothing is done.  The power of these reports is their ability to provide cathartic relief for victims, and also provide a way for victims to warn other potential victims.

We believe that community residents must act in concert to address sexual assault.  Studies suggest that even if individuals receive messages that sexual violence is unacceptable,  other community members may still be sending messages that support sexual violence, making the original messaging ineffective.  Because the  Safecity app generates crowd maps, citizens and community organizations can use the data for individual and collective purposes. Moreover, since the app is launched through ongoing dialogue, residents and community leaders can work together to create innovative solutions. If communities create the data and solutions, the solutions have a better chance of being successful.

The Safecity reporting platform (web, android and iOS), bridges the data gap between lived reality and under-reporting of crime. It encourages anonymous reporting of violence. It provides the survivor/victim ease in reporting, a place to document the incident anonymously and have access to the information for a local neighborhood.

It allows institutional stakeholders to access data that they would otherwise not have, including microaggressions that contribute to a culture of violence and impunity because the incidents go unreported and normalize the violence.

We also use social media like twitter, instagram, whatsapp and discord to create online communities and educate and advocate on safer cities and communities, violence prevention and consent culture.

We use data analytics to create data dashboards for people to understand the patterns of violence in their local communities and cities.

We are open to diversity, equity and inclusion and have a very diverse team and board. Our members range across genders, sexual orientation, age, religion, ethnicity, cognitive abilities and skills. Our workplace is inclusive with very flexible policies and where respect is given to all.

Grants from US Department of State, Vital Voices, BMW Foundation, IAC Berlin and others. This constitutes 50% of our revenue

Donations from private individuals and high networth individuals including family foundations. This constitutes 45% of our revenue

Awards for innovation which we have secured consistently year on year. This is 5% of our revenue.

We provide tech and data support to smaller NGOs and support their local advocacy work on sexual and gender based violence prevention.

We are financially sustainable with multiple revenue streams - donations, CSR grants and income from services 

We recently have an individual donor who gave us USD 100000 after observing our work for 3 years.

We have consistently worked with Vital Voices who have increased grants from USD 5000 to a recent grant of USD 100000 and we are on their watch list for investment.

We have worked consistently with US Department of State securing funding year over year to a total of USD 130000